Afterlife: Loki
by Heavenmetal
Summary: A look at what happens after the movie
1. Loki's Death

Disclaimer: Dogma, and its characters belong to the great Kevin Smith! I'm just borrowing the characters to put in this story. Did I mention I make no money off this?  
  
Afterlife: Loki  
  
The knife plunged into Loki's side, easily worked in between his plates of armor by it's wielder. As it passed through his ribs and into his vitals, the first real physical pain he'd ever felt passed through him. Loki knew he would die. He gazed up in shock into the uncaring face of his murderer, Bartleby - who had changed into someone else, someone Loki didn't know. He stumbled and Bartleby caught him. This wasn't right. After all the shit they went through together, it couldn't end like this. Not like this, killed by his best friend. Loki wanted to yell at him, at least ask him why...  
  
He just wanted to go home.  
  
Loki collapsed to the ground and took his last mortal breath...  
  
Deep down in the recesses of his once-angelic mind, Loki could adjust to the sense of weightlessness that came with being incorporeal. He could even accept the darkness all around him as a normality of the infinite but his human side was scared shitless. He was scared because he had no idea what would happen to his soul. The best he could hope for was to sit outside The Gates of Heaven for all eternity.  
  
Suddenly, a whirlwind circled him as his spirit began to take the form his body had been during his brief mortal life. The coursing winds whipped about him and fear again clouded his mind. When the winds ceased, he felt a jolt as if he'd been pushed from behind. He fell forward with none of his previous God-given gracefulness and landed harshly on rough earth. Now, confusion temporarily replaced his fear. The roughness of his landing unnerved him but he couldn't place his finger on why.  
  
He looked up, he seemed to be in a cavern of some kind and although it was dimly lit by torches along its stone walls, it scared him more than the darkness had. A glimmer of movement caught his attention and he turned his head in its direction. And as the figure moved closer, Loki could tell it was an angel. With every step he examined it's features; shoulder-length blonde hair, green eyes, the presence of the almighty all over him. Loki searched his memory to match a name to the being that now stood before him, "Uriel?" Loki whispered.  
  
"Yes," The angel replied, smiling sadly, and offered his hand to help Loki up. Loki grabbed it and quickly got to his feet, his head filled with questions. "Holy shit... It's been a long time! What are you doing here? What's going on?"  
  
"I've been sent to guide you, Loki. Follow me." Without looking back, Uriel started walking down the corridor. Loki quickly followed. As they walked Uriel said, "Do you remember what happened to you?"  
  
"Yeah..." Loki lowered his gaze and a different emotion filled him, something more comforting than fear. "Bartleby happened to me," he said with venom in his tone. "I tried to stop his fucking plan and... Damn it! If I ever see him again I'll fucking kill him."  
  
Uriel stopped short, "It's too late for that." He turned and looked at Loki, his expression grave.  
  
Loki was shocked. Dead. Bartleby's Dead?  
  
When Uriel nodded, Loki realized he must have spoken out loud. "Yes, he's dead. We both still exist, do we not?" This was all so confusing. So the scion succeeded and Bartleby's dead. How did he die? What's going to happen to us now? To save him the trouble of thinking this through, his anger quickly took over. All of this was Bartleby's fault! Bartleby had the stupid idea to go to Jersey. Bartleby cut off his wings. Bartleby killed him! "Good! The fucker..."  
  
Uriel frowned, "You really hate him, don't you?"  
  
Loki glared at Uriel. "He... fucking stabbed me!"  
  
Uriel said nothing but turned and continued walking. They both walked in silence for what seemed like a pretty long time to Loki. But then again, when you've been in existence since the dawn of creation and the rest of eternity lies ahead of you, 'a long time' seems like such a stupid phrase. During the walk Loki had plenty of time to think... but he really wasn't sure he should. Right now, walking with Uriel, he felt the peace that any human would feel being around an angel. Better to feel that than the fear that nearly choked him when he first arrived here.... Where ever here was, that is.  
  
Lost in thought, Loki didn't notice that Uriel had stopped walking until he nearly walked into him. A demon was blocking the path. The feathers on his wings had burnt away during The Fall leaving them black and leathery. They were now stretched out, blocking the corridor behind him from view. It whispered, "Greetings Uriel, one who is called The Flame." The demon smiled wickedly at Loki. Uriel responded curtly, "Dommiel, move aside." After the demon moved aside, Loki looked up and felt something inside him shatter.  
  
No.  
  
This is wrong.  
  
The fear rose in a giant wave to engulf him and his heart rose to his throat. No this can't be, he thought as his eyes took in the huge Black Gate before him. His jaw dropped as he saw the inscription above the door, each letter burning into his mind...  
  
"Abandon every hope ye who enter here."  
  
He took a step back, meaning to get away, anywhere as long as it wasn't here but Uriel had grabbed him by the arm. And fighting back tears Loki asked him in a whisper, "Why did you bring me here?"  
  
A look of grief passed over Uriel face, "I am sorry. But I was ordered-"  
  
"Ordered?!" Loki interrupted. His blue eyes widened in realization that The Almighty had condemned him to Hell. This would be where he would spend all of eternity. Loki shook his head frantically, "No! You don't understand! I tried to stop Bartleby. At first we were just gonna go home but he went too far and it got so fucked up... but I tried, damn it!"  
  
The demon laughed out loud. Loki wanted to punch him.  
  
"I know," Uriel responded calmly, "but that's not the reason you're here. You died with sins on your soul, Loki. You've killed."  
  
Tears of anger ran down Loki's cheeks. He screamed and grabbed Uriel by the shirt, shoving him against the stone wall of the cavern. "That's what He created me to do!" Loki's words were ground out between clenched teeth.  
  
"I am sorry." Uriel said, then he disappeared.  
  
Seeing Loki was distracted, Dommiel grabbed Loki from behind and began to drag him towards the gate. Loki screamed and struggled as best he could but his strength was nothing compared to the demon's.  
  
As they reached The Gates, Dommiel kissed Loki's cheek and snarled, "Welcome home," before throwing him through the entrance to Hell. And, for the second time, the former Angel of Death landed face down in the dirt.  
  
Before he could gather his senses, a group of demons grabbed him, pulling him to his feet and dragging him off to God-knows-where. The more he struggled, the more they scratched and pulled at him. They taunted him as he fought, calling him angel. He knew that they knew who he really was. It pissed him off that they thought it was so funny that he was here. They managed to drag him to the shore of a river where a boat was waiting. He still fought, even as the boat started to move across the water, until eventually the screams of the damned, the smell of burning flesh and the heat from the fires of hell forced him to pass out.  
  
To be continued...  
  
Note: This is going to be a series of What ifs about what happens after the Dogma movie ends. I have a few planned. And so far this is the only one that will be more than one chapter. I drew a lot of ideas from "Paradise Lost" and Dante's "Inferno" 


	2. The Delicate Psyche of an Angelic Being

Disclaimer: I still own nothing but the computer I used to type this.  
  
Afterlife: Loki Chapter 2, The delicate psyche of an angelic being  
  
When Loki came to, he was standing in a line along with countless mortal souls. He was close enough to the front of the line to see a large, imposing demon saying something to a soul before it was dragged off to it's eternal punishment. This happened every time a new soul reached the front of the line and Loki realized that this was it for him. This was the end of the line. He'd never go home again. He felt defeated and betrayed: betrayed by Bartleby, who killed him and by God, who made him what he was and sent him to hell for it. He hung his head only moving forward whenever a new soul was judged. The only sounds around him, he realized, were the occasional sobs, screams, and wails of anguish that occurred from the poor souls at the very front of the line. He wished with all his might that this had all been just some terrible nightmare. He would wake up in Wisconsin, watch cartoons with Bartleby and... He didn't let himself continue. He knew it was all too real. He was in hell, or it was in him. Either way, he felt broken.  
  
Soon, far too soon in Loki's opinion, he stood before the demon. In front of the demon was a pillar with a book on it, a book of deeds. Loki resisted the urge to take a step back from the demon who looked at least five times larger than a normal man. The demon glanced at Loki, then at his book, then he grinned. But it was a vile thing with no mirth to it.  
  
"Loki, I am Minos. It's my job to sentence you to a level of hell." Loki noticed the demon's impossibly long tail twitching almost eagerly.  
  
Minos bent over, focusing his attention on the book, his tail wrapping itself around him as he read of Loki's life. When he finished he stood and faced a small group of demons.  
  
"Seventh level, the violent" one of them said and the other demons snickered as they began to move towards him.  
  
The gravity of the situation hit him full force at the demon's words, his panic gave him a second wind. "No! This isn't right! I don't belong here!" Loki protested. Minos faced him, looking angered "Do you mean do deny what you've done?" he said mockingly. "Or do you still think yourself above us?"  
  
"You're no longer an angel, Loki." a nearby demon hissed. "God's cast you down into the abyss with us, where a bloodthirsty fuck like you deserves to be."  
  
"Fuck you!" Loki screamed, his hatred towards every unfair hand he'd been dealt now having a direct target. He lunged at the demon, prepared to fight, to kill. But the demons laughed obnoxiously loud and grabbed him. Loki screamed in frustration. They'd been trying to piss him off and he had done just what they wanted. He tried fighting them but they tore at his skin, drawing blood he knew he shouldn't have.  
  
In moments after the fight had started, Loki was exhausted and the demons had already arrived at their destination dropping Loki on the ground, with only one guard to stand over him. The others withdrew, probably back to fetch more souls. He was on his knees, trying to clear his head and get up the energy to move.  
  
"Get up, scum." The demon hissed at him. Loki just glared at him so the demon struck him, clutched him by the neck, then pulled him roughly to his feet. "Still think you're so much better than us?" The demons face was inches from Loki's own, fangs bared. "You've lost your wings. You've lost your faith. You've lost your life. You have nothing left."  
  
Loki forced his voice past the crushing grip on his throat and snarled, "I was doing the will of God."  
  
The demon sneered, "Then what are you doing here?" The demon gestured to his left and Loki chanced to glance at the scenery. Before him was a river of boiling blood. "The River Phlegethon. This is the deepest part. We saved it for you." With that, the demon shoved Loki into the river.  
  
As Loki plunged into the bloody waters, his skin seared. He tried to swim upwards to escape the pain but something seemed to be dragging him farther down. He writhed and convulsed but couldn't get to the surface. The pain was unbearable. Loki screamed but blood rushed into his mouth, scorching him from the inside, prompting another soundless scream. He could feel his outer layer of skin melting away. The blood rushed passed him and thrashed against him, the pain never ending, never dulling. Each moment felt like the first moment he touched the river. He could barely think but, gritting his teeth, he tried to organize thoughts to help escape the agony.  
  
And he began to doubt.  
  
Had he been wrong to kill? Perhaps Bartleby had been right all those centuries ago when he insisted murder in the name of God was wrong. But over the rushing sound of blood past his burning ears he could make out screams, the screams of the damned, people he had sent to hell with his own hands. They were sinners and deserved death.  
  
Amid the agonies of hell, one soul managed a brief smile. Because Loki knew he'd been right.  
  
To be continued....  
  
A Note: The title of this chapter comes from Azrael's speech in the deleted scene called "Evil is an Abstract" The full quote is "I know what effect such horrors have on the delicate psyche of an angelic being". To anyone who might have seen that clip and is thinking that from what Azrael said, humans are the ones who decide that they deserve to be punished. Well, I have to answers to why, if that's true, I still put Loki in hell. 1) Metatron said that God decreed neither Bartleby nor Loki would ever get back into heaven. 2) At the beginning of the movie when Loki and Bartleby are first talking about going to Jersey, Loki says "what then, hell? Fuck that." From that comment it seems he knew he would go to Hell. 


	3. Is there no place left for repentence, n...

Disclaimer: Copyright and suchlike of all characters from Dogma belong to Kevin. Although technically, you can't own an angel or a devil. hmm... I'll have to look into that.  
  
Afterlife: Loki Chapter 3,  
  
Free will is a funny thing. Loki had always assumed that angels had a limited amount of free will. After his exile, he thought his lack of free will was what caused him so much pain to be separated from God. He had almost looked forward to becoming mortal. So, he'd let Bartleby cut off his wings. And after the shock wore off, the pain set in. But it had nothing to do with his now mutilated body. It was lonely. It was scary. Being fully mortal meant being cut off from God in a way he'd never imagined and all he wanted to do was get drunk and dull some of the emptiness he felt.  
  
He'd never imagined that it could be worse.  
  
Being murdered by your best and only friend was worse. A countless age in a river of boiling blood was a lot worse. The flesh on him returned as quickly as it was burned away so that the pain was never ending, ever as fresh as the first moment he'd been thrown into it's depths. He looked upwards, towards the surface as he writhed. In his delusion, he thought it seemed closer than before, close enough that if he could just swim upwards a few yards, he could break the surface. Struggling against pain, he put all his strength into trying to drag himself upwards. To his great surprise, it was working! He frantically strained to reach the surface, his goal coming closer and closer.  
  
When he finally broke the surface, the sound of splashing barely reached his ears over his own maniacal laughter. He made it to the shore, coughing up the blood that made up the river's contents between chuckles. The air froze him but the pain wasn't nearly as great as it had been. He fell onto the ground and rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes, trying to think, to organize his thoughts towards getting out of Hell. But as he opened his eyes, he saw a demon standing over him, smiling.  
  
All hope drained out of Loki.  
  
"Fuck..."  
  
"Have a nice swim, angel?" The demon stared with contempt, but seemed slightly amused.  
  
Loki said nothing. He just knew he didn't want to go back to the river. A thought occurred to Loki, one he voiced aloud. He cleared his throat. "How was I able to get out of the river?" His voice sounded so strange to his own ears. It seemed harsher, more like a growl.  
  
The demon, no longer amused, snarled, "Someone wants to see you." With that, he picked Loki up and set him on his feet. "Go."  
  
Loki stood stunned for a moment, unsure if that was really an answer to his question. Apparently, the demon thought a moment was too long. It shoved him and repeated. "Go, you maggot!"  
  
Loki almost stumbled but he managed to catch himself before he fell. Then he turned and hissed "You know, 'Go' is pretty fucking vague and it's not exactly like I know my way around. So how about you give me some fucking directions, shit head!"  
  
About point five seconds after the demon had backhanded Loki was when Loki realized it's probably a bad idea to mouth off to a demon. The blow had sent him sprawling and, not being quick enough to get to his feet, the demon thought it best to drag Loki to where ever it was that this mystery person wanted to have a chat.  
  
Loki realized that he wouldn't be going back to the river, at least not any time soon. So with a temporary bit of relief washing through him, he let himself be carried. It wasn't very comforting though. Loki's raw skin blazed with pain and the pain was more intense as it brushed against the rough skin of the demon. Loki clenched his teeth. This wasn't the river. He could deal with this. The demon flew, carrying Loki as though he weighed nothing. When the screams of the damned began to reach his ears, Loki's first thought was to cover his ears but he couldn't. The demon had a good grip on his arms. So instead, he listened, wondering how many of them he had personally sent here; dozens, hundreds, thousands...  
  
When the demon landed they were before a set of doors flanked by guards. The demon who'd been carrying Loki set him on his feet and nodded to one of the guards. The guard nodded back and pushed a door open so they could enter. It was a sort of throne room. As Loki walked through it, towards the shadowy figure seated on the throne, a cold kind of dread seeped into him. And, where it not for the demon walking right behind him, Loki would've made for the door.  
  
Once they were before the dais, the demon shoved Loki down onto his knees. With his head down, Loki could see that the blood that still covered him was slowly dripping onto the floor. And for the first time since he'd arrived in Hell, Loki realized he was naked. He also realized that nothing could make you feel more vulnerable than being naked in the presence of the Devil. "Leave us," said the deep commanding voice from the throne. The demon bowed and hurriedly walked out. After the door closed, the silence was deafening. Loki raised his head and gasped.  
  
"The Morningstar..."  
  
The figure before him, once an angel, had lost only a small portion of the radiance he'd had in heaven when Loki had last seen him. He was dressed in robes and draped over his thrown more like a drunken debaucher then the chief ruler of hell. Lucifer smiled, as if flattered by Loki's shocked staring. Loki shivered.  
  
"It's been a long time, Loki, my brother."  
  
Loki glared, some of his courage returning. "We stopped being brothers a long time ago."  
  
"We're closer than you'd like to think."  
  
Loki snorted. "I doubt it. I know I never was stupid enough to try and take the throne of Heaven."  
  
Lucifer's face hardened and his eyes blazed with intense fury, and just as quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced again by his grinning. "If I were you, I would lose that haughty attitude!" He leaned forward and threw an arm out in gesture. "Look where you are! Where have you spent the last decade?" He lowered his voice, and in smooth tones he said "When we were cast from heaven, the renegades, it took us nine days to fall to hell... It just took you a bit longer."  
  
Loki stood defiantly, "That was different! Whatever I am now is what He made me!"  
  
Lucifer slumped back against the arm of his throne and sighed, closing his eyes. When he again opened them, Loki was shocked by the look of compassion they carried. "I know," he spoke in a whisper. "Don't you think, that of all souls in existence, that the fallen could understand that? It's why I had you taken from the river. You belong with us, Loki."  
  
Loki could feel himself shaking, "What do you want from me?"  
  
Lucifer stood gracefully and began to pace before his throne. "I want you with us. I could use a demon with your talent. I've seen you work before Loki. You were always good at what you did. My son can testify to that."  
  
"Your son?"  
  
Lucifer stopped pacing and smiled at Loki. "Yes, my son Death. You've made a lot of work for him over the centuries." He walked up to Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Think of what we could accomplish together, my brother!"  
  
Loki thought on this a moment. "If you're such a big fan why did I even get sent to the river?"  
  
Lucifer shrugged, his arm dropping back against his side. "I have my pride, Loki. You realize that you almost unmade all of creation. It makes me look bad."  
  
"And what would I have to do?"  
  
Lucifer's grin widened. "That's the best part! Anything you want! I can give you power. I can send you back into the world to do whatever you wish; punish the wicked, wreak havoc, get revenge, anything. You'd be Loki, the father of strife."  
  
At the word revenge Loki's mind turned toward Bartleby. "There's only one person I want to punish. And there's a good chance he's already here."  
  
Lucifer's face lost it's grin. "You mean Bartleby, the Grigori? I'm afraid not."  
  
Loki's jaw dropped. "What? But I was told he was dead!"  
  
Lucifer nodded. "Yes, killed by the Almighty. As soon as He showed up, Bartleby broke to his knees, begged forgiveness, and wept like a woman. He's been in Purgatory ever since."  
  
Loki stood there stunned, hatred clawing below the surface of his skin. When he'd been in the river, his only sense of revenge came from knowing that his murderer was burning in Hell along with him, cold comfort though it was. Only to find that now he'd spent years in Hell and Bartleby had escaped punishment.... God had no sense of Justice. He was beginning to understand why the angels had become renegade to begin with.  
  
"And what if I don't want this job?" Loki asked  
  
Lucifer's eyes turned cold, "Then I send you back to the Phlegethon and I'll let you burn for all eternity. But consider this, inflicting suffering on the deserving is a lot easier than taking suffering onto yourself."  
  
Loki thought about this. Should he turn his back on God? Maybe God had already turned His back on Loki. If he went back to suffering in the river Phlegethon, he'd be there for all eternity, for something that wasn't his fault. He looked at Lucifer's expectant face. But if he agreed...  
  
A feral grin spread across Loki's face. "When do I start?"  
  
Lucifer titled his head back and laughed, golden curls dancing about his face. "You can start as soon as you're ready, Loki, mischief-maker."  
  
The End.  
  
Author's note: Wow, bet nobody saw that comming! hehe And yes, I thought it would be neat to tie this story into norse mythology. And if anyone's wondering if this Loki might be too much of a simple creature to be a cunning Aesir then go back and watch Loki's reveal. I think it would take more than a simple creature to get a nun to leave the faith. Keep an eye out for my next story "Afterlife: Bartleby" Thanks for reading! 


End file.
